Heating system



Jan. 5, 1954 J, A. DONDERO 2,665,073

HEATING SYSTEM Filed Feb. 17, 1949 ZZZ INVENTOR.

6 HTTUR/VE? Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEATINGSYSTEM John A. Dondero, New York, N. .Y'. Application February 17, 1949,Serial No. 77,020

3-Glaims. l

Thepresent invention relates to heating systems generally and moreparticularly to steam heating systems for buildings which utilize risersand heating means through which: steam may flow continuouslyanduninterruptedly.

In such systems steam is generally supplied under relatively lowpressures to a supply pipe and flows from the latter through the.various rp-feed or down-feed conduits or risers spaced along its length.The down-feedconduits or risers may have heat exchangers in theform oflateral onsets in the various rooms provided withheat. radiating fins.Condensate, air, gases and uncondensed steam pass downwardly through therisers toward a return pipe. Previously it has been necessary to provideeach down-feed conduit or. riser, or each heating means, with a trapwhich permits the passage of condensate or relatively cool gases butwhich closes when. contacted by steam. A vacuum pump or hot well isgenerally used'to withdraw the condensate or gases from the return line.An example of a heating system along the lines of the above is disclosedin Patent No. 2,174,333 dated September 26, 1939.

The drip traps. which must be used in each down flow riser of previoussystemssuch' asthat shown in the above mentioned patent require anobjectionable amount of inspection and maintenance, as well as beingobjectionable by reason of the initial expense, of the numerous trapsand their cost of installation. Another disadvantage isthat the trapsmust: be located at the lower end of each. down fiow. riser and=innumerous instances the down How risers may terminate in almostinaccessible. spaces, thus making inspection and maintenance verydifficult.

The present invention aims to overcomethe above and other diilicultiesor disadvantages by providing a new and-improved:simplified heatingsystem and method which doesinot require separate traps for eachdown-feed conduit or riser. The invention further contemplates theprovision of a new and improved heating system and method which requiresa: minimum number of traps or fluid controlling means: ancltyet whichinsures adequate supply of steam to all risers and lateral offsets orheating means of the system.

An object of the'present inventionisto provide a new and improvedheatingsystem:

Another object of the-inventionds to provide a new and improved. heatingmethod:

Another object is to provide. a. heating. system having a minimunrnumber of fluid controlling means or traps.

Another object of the invention is'to provide a heating system havingaminimum number of traps orfiuid controlilng means which may be locatedat a readily accessible central location.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new andimproved heatingsystem and method which-gives optimum-flow of steam through-the system.

Other and further objects of theinvention will be obvious uponanunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described;.orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to. herein will occur toone skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosenior purposes ofillustration and de scription and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Fig. 1' is a diagrammaticview showing a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

Fig; 2 is a diagrammatic View generally similar to Fig. 1. but showinga. different arrangement thereof;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a modified form of gas-separating orcooling chamber; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing a-modifled" form-of a portion ofthe present invention.

Referring more particularlytoFig. 1 thereare shown a plurality'ofconduits or up-feed risers land a plurality of conduits or down-feedrisers 2; the latter, being provided with heating means orexchangersshown as lateral oiisets t provided with heat radiating fins. Theheat-exchangers may beenclosed within a suitable b0X-like casing (notshown) and. passage of air through the casing may be controlledby amanually operable damper or gate. Any suitable number of up-feed anddownx-feed risers, together with the heat exchangersmay be provided;only three. sets of these are shown in Fig. 1 merely. by way ofillustration. Steam is normally supplied to the risers or conduits bya-supplypipe Band flows through the risers and the heat exchangers-incontinuous and uninterrupted manner. Steam supply to the supply pipe 5may be controlled by a main-valve l, which may be either manually ormotor operated.

Condensate, air, gas and-steam maypass out of the..downfeedirisers 2and'into a return pipe 8.. It. will be noted that there are notraps orfluid controlling means whatever shown in the various down-feed risers2.

Fluid controlling trap means I is shown intermediate the ends of thesupply and return pipes and 8 and additional trap means II is shown ator adjacent an outlet end of the return pipe 8. Each of these trap meansmay be similar and each is preferably of the generally known andcommercially available combination float and thermostatic type, whichallow passage or drainage of water and release of air from a conduitconnected therewith but which close to prevent passage of steam. Thussteam is retained against leakage out of the system.

As thus far described the system suffers from the difficulty ofcompletely purging the conduits and heat exchangers of the system or airor gases in order that steam may enter the conduits and heat exchangersto supply heat to the rooms. Steam admitted into the supply line 5 maypass through the various risers nearest the main control valve I, thenceinto the return pipe 8 and along the latter to the trap means II. Steamcoming into contact with the mechanism of the trap Ii will cause thattrap to close off in such manner as to objectionably interrupt theescape of air and other gases from the remainder of the system. In orderto operate correctly and efficiently these other gases should be removedfrom the system.

As shown in Fig. 1 the above-mentioned difficulty or disadvantage isovercome or minimized by providing a chamber I4 which connects with thereturn pipe 8 by a conduit I5 and which also connects by a conduit I6with a trap means II. An outlet pipe I9 from the trap means II mergeswith an outlet 23 from the trap I I and the common outlet from each ofthese trap means II and I1 connects with a vacuum pump or hot Well 22.

Gases moving along through the return line 3 are removed or separated orvented therefrom into the chamber I i, which seems to cool these gasessomewhat. This cooling of the gases in the chamber I4 permits theirpassage through the trap I! and thence outwardly toward the hot well orvacuum pump 22. Thus steam, air or other gases in the system may beseparated from the return main 8 at a point in advance of the trap I I.

As previously mentioned, the fluid controlling means or traps I9 and IIare preferably of the combination float and thermostatic type whichpermit passage of liquids and gases but which close when being contactedby steam. When traps of this type are closed due to the temperature ofthe steam which strikes them, liquid condensate may continue to passthrough the trap but gases are cut off until such time as .the steamcondenses or cools sufficiently for the trap to automatically open andpermit subsequent discharge of the gases and cooled or condensed steam.The trap Il may be purely of the thermostatic type which cuts oil whenbeing contacted by steam. More than one trap may be used at eachlocation shown.

These traps are generally constructed to operate over a range ofpressures and temperatures, the thermostatic element automaticallyclosing in response to the steam temperatures which correspond withvarious pressures. For example, when the pressure is in the neighborhoodof 2.2 pounds per square inch, absolute, the thermostatic element of the.trap may close when contacted by steam at a temperature of about 130F.; when the pressure in the system is in the neighborhood of 17.2pounds per square inch, absolute, the thermostatic element of the valvemay close at a steam temperature of about 220 F. The trap means may ofcourse also close at various intermediate steam temperatures whichcorrespond with various intermediate pressures.

It may be desired, particularly during initial heating up of the system,to provide means for more rapidly venting the system than is done by thetrap means II and I! alone. In Fig. 1 this may be achieved through theconduit 23 and valve 24. The valve 24, which is preferably a needlevalve, may be opened during the initial heating up so that gases fromthe chamber I4 may readily by-pass the fluid controlling means or trapII. It may, of course, be left permanently open a desired amount toprovide extra venting.

In operation steam enters the supply pipe 5 through the main controlvalve 1 and passes through the various risers and the heaters which areshown connected in series with the risers. Condensate and gases leavethe risers and pass into the return pipe 8. When fluids in the returnpipe 8 reach the connection with the chamber I4 gases may pass upwardlyinto the chamber and the condensate may pass into and through the trap II, being discharged into the outlet conduit 23 and thence delivered tothe hot well or pump 22. Air, gases or steam may pass from the chamberI4 through the conduit I6 and thence through the trap II, emerging fromthe trap I1 and passing to the hot well or pump 22. Steam which entersthe chamber I4 from return line 8 is cooled sufficiently so that it doesnot generally effect closing of the trap means !'I. Steam thus does notnormally contact the trap II but vents upwardly into the chamber I4,where its temperature seems to be lowered sufiiciently so that it maypass through the trap I1. Initial warming up of the system isfacilitated by the provision of the by-pass line 23 and control valve 24which extends around the trap II. The valve 24 may, if desired, be leftslightly open at all times to provide an additional vent from thesystem.

It is believed that the chamber I4 serves to condense steam or to lowerthe temperature of gases and steam which enter it so that they may passthrough the trap I1, and also serves to vent gases from the return line8 since they seek the higher location of the chamber I4. The chamber maybe made from an ordinary piece of pipe as illustrated in Fig. l or maybe provided with suitable fins 25 as shown in Fig. 3, to thereby providean enhanced cooling eifect.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a slightly different arrangement of the systemillustrated in Fig. 1. As illustrated in this latter figure fluids maypass through the supply line So and the return line 8a in the samegeneral direction, gases being vented or separated from the return line8a into the chamber I la. Condensate and cool gases may pass through thetrap Ila to the hot Well or pump 22a. Gases or steam which enter thechamber I4a. pass therefrom toward and through the additional trap meansIla. As described in connection with Fig. 1, a valve 24a and suitableconduits may be provided for by-passing the trap I111. The various trapsand the chamber I ia may be similar to those already described in connection with Fig. 1. Lines 5a, 8a are shown pitched in the same direction.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a slightly modified form of the presentinvention. A return line 8b connects with the upper part of a chamber Mbaccaovs so that all liquids and gases or steam pass through the chamberand may be cooled in passage therethrough. A combination float andthermostatic trap lib may be connected by conduits with the lower partof the chamber Mb and also with the pump or hot well 22?). This slightlymodified form may, of course, be used together with an additional trapand a control valve similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Themodified form of Fig. 4 may be desired in some instances.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a new and improvedheating system and method which eliminates the necessity of providingthe numerous traps or fluid controlling means required in previoussystems of this sort. Gases or air are efficiently purged from thesystem during initial heating up operations. Steam or other gases may beseparated from the system or removed from the location of a controllingtrap so that the trap may efliciently function to pass condensate, orcool gases. The present system and method does not require theemployment of any special traps or complicated equipment; generallyknown and commercially available traps may be used and existing systemsmay be readily modified to incorporate the steam or gas separating orventing chamber of the present invention. The system and method of thepresent invention may be readily used with apartments of the gardentype, which do not usually include basements but have only limited spacebetween the ground and the underneath of the flooring, in which thetraps of the usual systems may be incorporated; with the present systemand method the few traps required may be grouped in a single readilyaccessible location instead of being located in such small spaces.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a steam heating system having a plurality of heating means eachcomprising a continuous conduit connected across a supply line and areturn line and each being devoid of flow impeding means and formingsubstantially unrestricted passages for steam flow from the supply lineto the return line, a thermostatic trap connected with a discharge endof said return line at a location below the connections of said conduitswith said return line for passing condensate to a discharge conduit butbarring passage of steam, a chamber at a higher elevation than saidthermostatic trap connected with said return line at a location betweensaid thermostatic trap and the connections of said conduits with thereturn line for removing steam from the return line and cooling it, anoutlet conduit from said means, a second thermostatic trap connectedwith said latter outlet conduit adapted to pass steam cooled by saidmeans to a discharge conduit, and discharge conduits for connecting eachof said thermostatic traps with means such as a vacuum pump.

2. In a steam heating system having a plurality of heating means eachcomprising a continuous conduit connected across a supply line and areturn line and being devoid of flow-impeding means and formingsubstantially unrestricted passages for steam flow from the supply lineto the return line, a thermostatic trap connected with a discharge endof said return line for passing condensate to a discharge conduit butbarring passage of steam, a cooling chamber above adjacent portions ofsaid return line and above said thermostatic trap and in permanentlyopen communication with said return line at a location spaced from andin advance of said thermostatic trap for removing steam from the returnline at a location spaced from and in advance of said thermostatic trapand cooling said steam, and a second thermostatic trap in communicationwith said cooling chamber adapted to pass steam cooled in said coolingchamber to a discharge conduit, and discharge conduits for connectingeach of said thermostatic traps with means such as a vacuum pump.

3. A steam heating system as claimed in claim 1 in which a by-passconduit is connected around said second thermostatic trap and theby-pass conduit is provided with a manually settable control valve forvarying the opening therethrough.

JOHN A. DONDERO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,408,478 Simpson Mar. 7, 1922 2,131,901 Parkton Oct. 4, 19382,341,738 Olin Feb. 15, 1944 2,344,874 Ingram Mar. 21, 1944 2,366,332Harrison et a1 Jan. 2, 1945 2,532,951 Schaub Dec. 5, 1950

